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James Morrison was born in Bountiful, Utah. He moved to Alaska at an early age and was raised in Anchorage. Morrison is married to Riad Galayini, who is the sister of fellow 24 alumni Matt Gallini. They have one son together, Seamus, born in 1999. Morrison started acting with the Carson and Barnes Wild Animal Circus as a clown and wire walker.

Morrison is a writer, director, producer, poet, singer, songwriter, and yoga instructor. He wrote and directed the short film Parking, which was popular in the film festivals it played in. The next year he and his wife wrote the short film Nude Descending. He then produced and starred in the short film Crossing.

Aside of acting, Morrison has a published book of poetry and prose, Fog Slow To Clear, and a published play called Idle Wheels. Also, he worked as a lecturer for 4 years at Bournemouth University School of Media in England. Morrison is also a singer/songwriter and has released two albums.

Morrison played the role of Bill Buchanan from Season 4 to Season 7. The role was supposed to be a one-episode guest star but the writers decided to extend the role, which finally remained for four seasons. He started as a guest star in Season 4, but was promoted to the main cast by Season 5 and remained as such until his last appearance in Season 7.

Unlike many other actors and actresses that have tried for 24, Morrison hadn't seen the show prior to his casting. He almost missed the audition because he had plans to go to Hawaii with his family on that day. However, his managers urged him to do the casting and made some re-arrangements of the flight schedules to allow him to try for the role. On an interview with About.com, Morrison said he "watched the episode where Jack kills Ryan Chappelle. I watched it the night before I went in and it blew my mind that these guys would do that. I said, 'these guys would do anything, I have to be on that show.'"[1]

About his character's death, Morrison said in an interview with Los Angeles Times "The moment you step aboard 24 you're taught to expect that you're going to bite it ... In this solar system you have one sun. The rest of us are just planets that are invited to orbit, and sometimes we're just yanked out of the sky." During the filming of the episode when Bill Buchanan died, the cast and crew of the show gathered with cake at the White House set. "I spent a moment with them basking in their appreciation of what I felt like was sort of a family member leaving the fold," Morrison said. "It was the most familial set I'd been on."[2]